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1492
Christopher Columbus Lands
In 1492 Christopher Columbus believed he had discovered America when in reality people already lived there. Columbus called them Indians because he believed he was in India. He landed in many Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central and South American coasts. Had this not happened people would most likely not live here. -
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Mercantalism
When a country creates colonies to gather resources and then send them to a mother country. Mother country creates goods and sends them back to the colonies for a higher price. -
Jamestown
The Virginia Company of England decided to sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. They established Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America. -
Navigation Act of 1651
The Navigation Act of 1651, aimed primarily at the Dutch, required all trade between England and the colonies to be carried in English or colonial vessels. This resulted in -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War comprised the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War of 1756–63. It pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War, which forbade all settlement west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. -
Stamp Act
An act of the British Parliament in 1765 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the Crown. -
Boston Massacre
Three people were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds; among the victims was Crispus Attucks, a man of black or Indian parentage. The British officer in charge, Capt. Thomas Preston, was arrested for manslaughter, along with eight of his men; all were later acquitted. The Boston Massacre is remembered as a key event in helping to galvanize the colonial public to the Patriot cause. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston tea party was a protest by the sons of liberty in Boston Massachusetts. This was implemented under the 1774 Intolerable Acts and known as the Boston Port Act. -
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American Revolution
The American revolution was a colonial revolt. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence stated that the thirteen American colonies that were at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain would now regard themselves as independent. This lead to the creation of the U.S.A. -
United States Constitution Signed
The drafting of the Constitution of the United States began on May 25, 1787, when the Constitutional Convention met for the first time with a quorum at the Pennsylvania State House and ended on September 17, 1787, the day it was signed. -
George Washington
George Washington was an American statesman and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. he became president on April 30, 1789. -
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat and he was one of the founding fathers. He died on April 17, 1790 -
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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, "The Century of Philosophy". -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid a total of sixty-eight million francs. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first American expedition to cross the western portion of the United States. Jefferson chose U.S. Army Captain Meriwether Lewis its leader, who in turn selected William Clark as second in command. -
Jacksonian Democracy
A movement for more democracy in American government in the 1830s. Led by President Andrew Jackson, this movement championed greater rights for the common man and was opposed to any signs of aristocracy in the nation. -
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Election of 1828
The United States presidential election of 1828 was the 11th quadrennial presidential election. The candidates were Andrew Jackson a democratic and John Quincy Adams a National Republican. In the end Andrew Jackson won with 178 electoral votes. -
Abolitionist movement
The abolitionist movement was a social and political push for the immediate emancipation of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed by Andrew Jackson. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands. This resulted in the trail of tears due to the deaths and suffering of the Indians. -
Westward Expansion
By 1840 almost 7 million Americans had migrated westward in hopes of securing land and being prosperous. The belief that settlers were destined to expand to the west is often referred to as Manifest Destiny. -
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Mexican American War
The Mexican–American War was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848. The war is known as the Mexican War in the United States and in Mexico as the American intervention in Mexico. the United states won this war and as a result the Mexican Cession of the northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the United States. -
Compromise of 1850
As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. Furthermore, California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857, popularly known as the "Dred Scott Decision". -
Election of 1860
The United States Presidential Election of 1860 was the nineteenth quadrennial presidential election to select the President and Vice President of the United States. The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860. The candidates were Abraham Lincoln John C. Breckinridge John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln won. -
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Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war that was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. As a result of the long-standing controversy over slavery, war broke out in April 1861. -
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. -
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Era of Reform
The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States that spanned from the 1890s to the 1920s. The main objectives of the Progressive movement were eliminating problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and corruption in government. -
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Died February 20, 1895